Chapter 20 - Spotlight

Danny Kennedy walked into a garage the size of an airplane hanger and as tall as three of them. It was one of the facilities belonging to Nodroz Corp. He didn't work for them, preferring to freelance. They hadn't given up trying to recruit him, however, and he had nearly unlimited access to the areas his girlfriend, Holly Fairweather did.

He whistled when he looked at her latest project. "How'd you get it big?" he asked her.

A face with a streak of some sort of hydraulic fluid on her cheek glanced over at him. Holly was a very cute girl with cool grayish blue eyes and hair that was wont to curl, but she kept straightened. It was currently dyed an almost eggplant purple with blunt bangs and pulled into high pigtails. "It's all in the programming. I'm with Billie though, I'm chomping at the bit to figure out who designed these things so long ago," she remarked and looked back down at the computer pad she held in her hand, watching data fly by as she ran a final diagnostic.

Danny shook his head. "Ain't no tellin'. Aliens been coming on going on Earth for longer than anyone knows," he declared.

Holly gave a smile. "Don't we know it," she declared dryly. The diagnostic finished running and sent the report to Billie. "I just wish I'd been brought in on this project sooner," she said and made a playful face at him. "But oh no, I was helping you," she teased.

"I didn't hear no complainin'," Danny pointed out. "Besides, you got to play with the Batmobile. You 'bout ready for lunch?" he asked.

Holly nodded. "Just let me get this up to Billie," she said. She tapped in a few commands on her pad and her project shrank and folded in on itself before being teleported out of the garage. She shut off the pad and went to grab her purse. "Ok. Let's go," she said when she got back.

Danny licked his thumb and went to scrub at the mark on her cheek, which made her laugh. She also smelled like welding metal and gallium, but he was used to that.

~*~

Rena's new position as receptionist meant she had to sit at a desk near the entrance of the Studio. It wasn't bad really. The unite Tai had purchased wrapped around and gave her something like her own small office. She answered the phones, delivered messages and didn't have to mop or do laundry anymore! Well, she did but not everyday. Tai rotated the duties among his employees, like he had before she came seeking a job.

Little did she know then that she was going to be a guinea pig for Billie and become the Gold Samurai Ranger. Not that they were actually fooling her. It didn't take a super genius to figure out the appearance of Samurai Rangers, one of which was freakishly tall, coincided with sudden inability to locate the instructors that teach the principals of Bushido...the path of Samurai. She just never really expected it to happen to her.

Now Rex was there, and he'd told her things she would have never imagined. Like the fact that he'd had his DNA tested a few years back when he was the Platinum Ranger and learned about some sort of Eltarin prophecy that apparently involved him. There were traces of Eltarin in his DNA. That meant hers as well.

They were also distantly related to Zhane and Zara Rahl, who were humans from KO-35. Well, she knew Zara from when she worked at It's a Pink Thing Dance and Gymnastics. She hadn't known until much later that she wasn't from Earth.

Rex told her he was discovering just what it meant to have Eltarin DNA. She'd asked him what was so special about Eltar. He's laughed at her, the butt hole. Of coarse, he deigned to explain all about the ancient wizard Zordon, the Phantom Ranger and how Eltar was the source of the Morphing Grid, the invisible energy and power network that allowed Power Rangers to exist.

It also explained, he said, their ability to muscle mimic. He theorized it was their grandmother Andromeda that carried the genes. She had died even before Kim was born, but the only child she and their grandfather Cole Hart had together was their own dad Ian. That explained why Kim and Mace were mostly ordinary. Mostly ordinary because they'd each been Power Rangers themselves. It was, Rex liked to joke, a Hart family tradition.

Then he went on to show her what bonding with the Platinum Power Coin had dome to him. She'd finally managed to get her own dig in by stating that he was lame version of Colossus from the X-Men because by touching metal, his skin would be coated in said metal. And that's what Billie by his suit being specially made to work with his ability.

That Billie, she certainly knew what she was about. One would think someone that smart could make her a Zord that wasn't a Squid.

Someone clearing his throat jerked her out of her brooding. She glanced up and saw Kane's friend Taylor Hicks. She smoothed her expression, wondering how long he'd been standing there watching her frown and pout like a six-year-old who wasn't getting her way. "Yes?" she asked pleasantly enough.

Tay flashed her a smile. "I came to talk to Tai," he informed her.

Rena nodded and picked up a phone and pressed a button to buzz Tai. He answered immediately. "What?"

Rena mentally rolled her eyes. "You're running a business here, you need to learn to be more cordial. Taylor Hicks is here to see you," she said sweetly.

"Send him in," he stated and in a very un-cordial move, hung up on her.

Rena replaced the receiver. "Go on up," she said, not losing that too sweet smile that, had Taylor known her any better, would have sent off warning bells.

As it was, he gave her a wink and a smile and moseyed up the hall toward Tai's office. He gave a perfunctory knock before going in.

Rena's smile disappeared and she frowned again, wondering what that was all about.

"Who the hell was that?"

Rena glanced at her brother standing in the door to his classroom. "That was Kane's friend Taylor. The ninja," she answered.

"Oh, right. Why are they having a former Red Ranger pow-wow?" he asked.

"I'm shocked. Something Tai hasn't told you. Honestly, I have no clue," she answered. "Why are you looking so mulish over there?" she asked.

Rex shook his head and walked back into his room to make sure his students were ready.

Rena decided she would never understand her brother.

~*~

Sanzu River

A Nanashi served Doukoku Essence. He took a long swig and growled. "Terrible. Terrible," he growled. "Give me more," he commanded.

shootari was perusing a book he'd found deep in the recesses of the ship. Sometimes things lost in the human world that 'slipped through the cracks' found their way to the Sanzu River. He was hoping something vital had been written. Unfortunately, it appeared to a rather drab account of some silly human man who'd have been killed immediately under Doukoku's rule. "If you don't like it, maybe you shouldn't drink it," he muttered under his breath.

"What did you say, Tentacle-face?" Doukoku demanded and threw a cup at him.

"Many apologies, my lord!" shootari said and bowed a few times.

"What word of Dayuu?" Doukoku asked and sent the Nanashi to fetch him another cup.

shootari shook his head. "Still evading my tracker. She's staying within the boundaries of Shiba's alarm network so that he cannot seep into the human world without alerting them," he explained.

"Then send someone to distract them!" Doukoku snarled.

shootari went to the port hatch. "Dokuroba!" he called and shuffled back.

Before long the skull-faced Ayakashi entered. He bowed to Doukoku. "You called for Dokuroba, my lord?" he asked in an exaggerated or strained sort of way.

"Go to the human world. Keep the Rangers distracted for awhile," shootari ordered him.

"Oh, yeah!" Doku stated. "It'll be...my pleasure," he said and jumped through the hatch.

~*~

Danny had taken Holly to a quiet little outdoor bistro on the outskirts of the city. He teased her about the strong smell of gallium hanging around her being the reason he chose to sit outside. In truth it was a nice day, and the place wasn't really that busy. He had ulterior motives for bringing her there.

He would never claim to be the world's romantic guy. As it was Holly had to all but demand he finally asks her out. So, he may as well not try for all the bells and whistles now. Holly ordered a grilled chicken salad and he just wanted a turkey club. He was gonna wait for dessert for his plans. Damn was he nervous.

They were reaching zero hour when Doku appeared nearby with a few Nanashi. Just enough to cause a bit of trouble.

Danny paused, the last bite of his sandwich half way to his mouth. "Youse gotta be shoottin' me. You know, I'm all for staying outta things and lettin' Tai an' his team deal with it--"

"But when they show up in our faces we gotta do what we do. Yeah," Holly agreed. She and Danny scrambled to their feet. Danny dropped enough money on their table to cover their food and leave a nice tip. A very nice tip. Being one of the world's foremost young freelance robotics experts paid well. Even though you wouldn't know it to look at him.

Some of the Nanashi were going after a few people at another restaurant but they ran into an invisible wall. They stumbled back in confusion.

"'Ey!" They turned and were thrown back as force field slamming into them. Danny blew on his hands. His genetic ability from bonding with half of the Triceratops Power Coin was the ability to produce force fields.

He was also an award winning martial artist who made a niche for himself in both Angel Grove and New York circles. So when more Nanashi came at him he kicked at them.

Holly was no frail scientist either. In her stint as the Titanium Ranger she learned several different techniques as well as the Tai Chi she always practiced with her father. She bobbed and weaved as Nanashi came after her, occasionally striking out, mostly being defensive. That is until she hit a wall and jumped, sticking to the wall and scaling it.

"Just what the hell are you two doing?"

Danny knocked over another Nanashi. He glanced over at the Samurai Rangers. "Just keepin' 'em busy til youse guys got here." he explained.

"Besides, they ruined our date. And you know how hard it is to get time for a date, right Lani?" Holly said toward the Pink Ranger.

"Enough! Dokuroba am not interested in the glasses boy or the strange wall-crawling girl. Dokuroba is only here for the Power Rangers," the Ayakashi said.

"Glasses boy?" Danny asked.

"Wall-crawling girl?" Holly echoed in outrage.

"You two haul it. You're retired," Silver informed them.

"We'll leave you to it," Holly said and hopped off the wall and landed by Danny. He gave them a brief salute and they ran out of the way.

Green raised his hand suddenly. "Ok, seriously where do they get these Ayakashi?" he asked.

"The Sanzu River," Yellow answered with a small frown in her.

"Well obviously. But I mean, this one for example. He sounds like Randy Savage!" he declared.

"You know, he kinda does," Silver declared.

"Who?" Yellow and Blue asked in unison.

"Never mind. Just get him," Red stated, his patience at an end. They draw their Swords. Red rushed forward to slash Doku and thought he scored a direct hit.

"Ohh, ahh, no. You got me," the Ayakashi said and stumbled back a few paces before straightening. "Which is what I would say..." he dissolved into nothingness.

"If that were really me. Oh, yeah!" he appeared standing above them on a street light.

"What?" Blue said. He took his Hidden Disc from his belt, slipped it onto his Sword and spun it. "Water Arrow!" He shot three arrows at the Ayakashi.

Doku clutched his chest dramatically and fell off the street lamp. His form dissolved before it hit. Laughter echoed and Dokuroba stepped forward from another direction. "That wasn't Dokuroba either," he said with pride.

"What the hell is going on?" Gold demanded.

Dokuroba multiplied himself several times over. "Find the real Dokuroba," he invited.

"Get him! Hopefully one of us can get the real one!" Red ordered. He took his Hidden Disc from his belt and slid it on to his Sword. "Giant Flaming Blade!"

"I think Sora still has you beat," Silver declared as he brought the two hilts of his Swords together. He took his Hidden Disc from his belt and slid it on the hilts. He spun it and silver energy swirled around the blades. "Metal Naginata!" The Sword turned into a dual ended naginata.

He began swirling through Doku clones, but each one he took out dissolved harmlessly.

"That's ok. I still say he's compensating for something," Red declared and began slashing great red flaming arcs around the various clones, but each one he hit merely dissolved.

Pink shook her head. "Boys and their toys," she said dryly. She took her Hidden Disc from her belt, slid it onto her Sword and spun it. "Heaven Fan!" She worked her around Doku clones and as her Fan hit, they dissolved.

Green reached into his belt and pulled out his Hidden Disc. He slipped it onto the hilt of his Sword and sent it spinning. "Wood Spear!" he didn't pull any punches and extended the blade immediately. "Hey. Boy toys are fun," he declared and began slashing, jabbing and hitting various clones, causing them to dissolve.

A bit of the banter was little over Yellow's head. She somewhat understood the context but she was still unsure. She threw her hands up in exasperation at them. She reached into belt and pulled out her Hidden Disc. She slid it onto her Sword and spun it. "Land Slicer!" Her sword turned into the giant shuriken and she tossed it, watched it pass harmlessly through clones that dissolved.

Blue shook his head. "Says the man with the long pointy stick," he muttered and began shooting clones that dissolved. That was quickly becoming very aggravating.

"Aww. That's so cute. Daiki's come such a long way from the ninja hating dick he used to be," Gold quipped. She began speeding around clones in streaks of Gold. She neared one, but he knocked her Sword back with his own blade. She hadn't expected such resistance and was slightly caught off guard.

"Dokuroba was here! Oh, yeah!" he declared and went to slash at her again, but he began to stiffen up. "Ooh, no! Dokuroba is out of water but I will be back," he said and escaped through the cracks.

"Dammit. I should have had him," Gold said and stomped her foot.

"Don't beat yourself up, Rat," Rex told her.

"Dokuroba is a tricky one. Oh, yeah!" Green declared, doing an imitation of the Ayakashi.

Gold shook her head and teleported first. The others followed.

~*~

They all gathered in Tai's study. They were naturally discussing the monster, but Rena wasn't totally listening. She was thinking. That monster seriously took her by surprise.

"The only thing to do when he comes back is cut down the duplicates until the real him his revealed," Tai said shaking his head. "Any insights up there, Dr. Billie?" he asked, looking at the screen.

Billie was quiet a moment. "I think the clones aren't really clones. Clones would have more substance, like Sora's. I think these might be shadows," she said.

"That makes sense," Lani stated. "But how does it help?" she wondered out loud, and bit her lip thoughtfully.

"Maybe Rena can help with that. In fact, I need her to come see me when she gets a chance," Billie stated.

Rena rolled her eyes. "I am in the room, you know," she pointed out.

Billie didn't respond to that. "I see you've hired Taylor Hicks. Is that a good idea?" she asked.

"Tay swore he'd stay out of Ranger business unless it comes crashing through his door," Kane stated.

Tai snorted. "You should be giving that look to your friend Danny," he stated.

"And my friend Holly," Lani added.

"Speaking of. I remember your friend Danny from when they installed the system in here, but who exactly are he and that girl?" Daiki asked.

"Danny and Billie were partners as Blue Rangers five years ago," Tai explained.

"Holly was my team mate from when I was a super shiny Platinum Ranger. She was Titanium. The other third of our trio was a guy named Fox who was the Bronze Ranger," Rex added.

"Oi, there are more ex-rangers running around Angel Grove than there are buildings!" Kane declared.

"That's one of the perks of living here," Rena declared with a wry smile.

"I like it. It's interesting," Kii declared with a smile.

"Regardless. If you're sure it's ok, I won't argue," Billie stated and her screen went blank.

"So polite," Rena declared. "I'll go check the messages in the Studio then go see what she wants now. Probably going to do some more tests or something. I think she gets a sick pleasure out of poking and prodding me," she muttered.

Rex chuckled. "She still thinks you might steal Nath away," he stated.

She got to her feet. "As if I want that blue-eyed clone of you and Mace. I swear if I'd known how much he was like you two, I'd never have had a crush on him," she stated. She gave a wave and walked out of the office.

Rex chuckled again.

"I have been meaning to ask, who is this Nathan?" Kii asked. She'd heard him mentioned many times.

Rex bounced to his feet and went to Tai's computer, pushing him and his chair out of his way. "The world's only male Pink Ranger," he stated and typed in a few commands. The screen came back on and a picture lit of the screen. It was of a full twenty-eight Rangers, wearing grayish-blue uniforms splashed with their Ranger colors, and a delicate looking girl with brown hair wearing a white and lavender outfit.

He zoomed in on the guy in the Pink. "That's Nathan Doyle nee Davis-Doyle," he explained.

Kiari looked on in amazement. "Look at you all. How young!"

Tai winced. "I wonder how many baby whales were sacrificed to those spikes," he said about his younger self.

Lani giggled and ruffled his hair. "It was a worthy sacrifice. Those spikes were hot," she told him in a low voice.

"Please, you will you tell us about the others?" Kiari asked excited. Daiki didn't outwardly admit to being interested, but his attention sharpened.

"Gladly," Rex said and began to educate them on their former Ranger team and the android called Beta Z.

~*~

Rena was just getting ready to leave when Tay walked back in, carrying a large box. "What's all that?" she asked.

"Just some stuff Sensei Shane sent me when he found out I was going to actually teach. He is not thrilled. He can't quite imagine me doing it," he said and made a face.

Rena snorted. "Teachers have a hard time seeing former students as anything other than students. My cousin Kim was the same way. Plus she was not pleased I went into arts and drama for school rather than pursuing my gymnastics career to its fullest extent," she said and rolled her eyes.

Tay grinned. "Yeah. Know that feeling. Sensei wasn't overly thrilled when I decided to enlist in the Air Force rather than stay on at the Academy. Though now he claims surprise that I'm teaching," he declared.

She smiled. "Well, I'd offer to help but I have to go see a cranky mad scientist," she said and paused. "And I wish I were joking," she added.

"That's ok. If I need help, I'll gleefully drag Kane away from his lady," he stated.

Rena gave a small laugh and darted out the door. She really hoped Billie didn't want to poke and prod at her.

~*~

Billie sat in her lab nursing a tall cup of coffee that had long gone cold as she stared at the mecha in front of her. It was a three dimensional rhombus, edged in gold, with a navy face and the Gold Ranger's Character on it in gold.

The thing was, it didn't work. It was supposed to work. Holly did all the final work herself and Billie had checked over the programming and diagnostics herself countless times. She didn't understand why it wasn't working. If she was prone to it, she'd toss the thing across the room.

The door to her lab opened and Rena walked in. "You wanted to see me?" she asked warily.

Billie gave a slight, wry smile. "Don't look so nervous," she said. She stood up and grabbed the symbol. She produced held it out to Rena. "I've been working on this when I decided to test a Gold Suit. I've just been working on Rex's longer. Unfortunately, it's refusing to work for me. I'm hoping you can coax it out of its shell," she explained.

Rena's eyes widened into saucers. She took the symbol nearly reverently. "Really? My own folding Origami Zord?" she asked.

"That's the intent anyways," Billie agreed. "Some of the more mystical aspects of these things elude me. I'm nearly positive the tech is Eltarin, which from what I can determine, has always been  fusion of science and magic," she declared, rather hating there was stuff she didn't understand.

Rena nodded and ran her hand over her stylized Character. "I'll do what I can," she assured Billie with a smile. "Is that all?" she asked.

Billie nodded. "You can go now. I have a few other projects that need my attention," she stated and went back to her workstation.

"So friendly as always," Rena declared with a grin and left the lab. She held the Origami Zord in her hands. She was halfway to the Studio van before she realized she forgot to ask Billie what it was. Well, if it worked she'd find out.

She ran a few errands for herself and the Studio since she was in the city and headed home, excited about her new toy, even if it wasn't fully functional yet.

When she arrived back, classes had begun again, and the phones were ringing off the hook and she didn't have the time to try and work the Origami.

~*~

Danny had decided to try again that very night. I thought maybe the monster attack was karma for not putting any effort into it. So he arranged a swanky dinner. He even wore a tie. With a good pair of jeans. Holly was stunning in a little black dress that hugged her in all the right places and showed off a pair of fantastic yoga legs.

Holly cocked her head at him as they walked along a well lit path in the park. "You've been up to something all day. What is it?" she asked him with a faint smile.

Danny was hit with a sudden case of nerves. "Uh...frak," he looked past her.

Startled by his language, she turned. "Frell," she agreed.

~*~

Rena was in her room toying with her Origami Zord and her Morpher, trying to somehow sync them up. "I don't get it. Naturally Rex's works fine for him," she muttered. "Hmm. Maybe I have to think logically about this. My element is light. Shining a light on you would be too easy. So...hmm," she typed a word into the Morpher and pressed send. A Character appeared in the air, glowing brightly. She reached out and put the Origami in the middle of it.

A flash bright as lightning flashed in the room. In fact, the rumble that followed a split second later, confirmed that it was indeed lightning. She had typed in 'lightning'. The Morpher had done its thing and made the Lightning Character appear.

She heard footsteps coming her way but her vision was green. Morphers beeped. "Damn," she said, grabbing the Origami Zord and teleporting.

~*~

Dokuroba grinned evilly down at Danny and Holly. "Hello again Glasses Boy and Wall-crawling Girl," he said.

"There you go with the name callin' again. A'ight bone breath, let's rumble," Danny said and took a kung fu stance. While he was in Ocean Bluff, he did some studying on the Fox technique of Pai Zhua.

Holly too brushed up a bit while helping him out and learned more about Spider technique. "Are you sure about this?" she asked the Ayakashi.

"Gedoushu!"

Dokuroba turned and spotted the Rangers surrounding him. "Oh, yeah! Dokuroba knew coming after these two would get your attention!" he crowed and more of him began appearing.

"Get through them, find the real one!" Red ordered.

Danny and Holly were not spared this time. Several shadows came at them. Danny kicked and punched at a few of them before getting frustrated. "Release the Fox!" From within him came a blue and white fox spirit that leapt through attacking shadows.

Gold was zooming through her shadows, when she felt...something. She didn't get time to figure out what because more shadows came at her.

Holly was putting up a good fight, but she saw the fox go by, she smirked. "Release the Spider!" From within her came a deep purple and ultra silver spider.

Green could not have held in his response if his life depended on it when a giant spider suddenly appeared. He yelped. "Aaahh! Holy spit!" he dropped his sword and fell back, crab crawling away from it.

Pink and Yellow went to him. Yellow scooped up his Sword. Pink but a hand on his shoulder. "It's just Holly's animal spirit. It might look...creepy, but it's on our side," she assured him.

Green nodded and got to his feet, taking his Sword from Yellow.

"This is ridiculous, there's too damn many!" Silver suddenly declared.

"I agree," Blue said. "There has to be a way to find the real one," he said.

"Maybe there is," Gold stated. She sheathed her Sword and put it back behind her. "If these things are just shadows..." she took out her Origami Zord and her Morpher. She made the Light Character  appear in front of her then held her hand up, hoping her lightning trick worked. The Origami Zord popped open, howling in a small voice, which quickly became booming when it jumped through the Light Character. The navy wolf with golden eyes and streaking of gold lightning grew to the size of the spirit animals. As it howled a blinding light came out of its mouth.

The light was so bright and fierce it blinded nearly everyone, but it also burned away the shadows, leaving behind only the real Dokuroba.

"Wow," Yellow gasped. "Rena-chan! So cool!" she said and gave her a peace sign.

The Wolf Origami Zord's light diminished and it flipped backwards, folding back in on itself and landing in its symbol form in Gold's hand.

Red gestured for Danny and Holly to get lost. Doku growled. "Now you have made Dokuroba angry!" he said and dashed forward.

Gold pulled her Sword forward and caught his blade as he came down with it. With a quick twist of her wrist, his blade broke in two.

"Rena!" Red tossed her the Battlizer and Power Disc.

Gold stepped back to catch them. She opened the Battlizer and put the Disc inside. She closed it and held it up. "Samurai Sword Clash Power-up!" A bright light began to blink as she brought her arm down to hold it in front of him. She pressed a button on the back of it and the Shiba symbol and Truth Character lit up, growing larger. In a bright flash of light, the symbol and character wrapped around her. Her helmet changed, began slightly more angular and ornamental with a silver mouth plate. Gold chest armor wrapped around her feminine figure and metal platelets forms along her arms and legs.

Samurai Gold took the Power Disc from the Battlizer and slid it onto her sword before clipping the box itself to it.

"Is that supposed to scare, Dokuroba. It will take more than that, little girl!" he said. He held hand up to his eyes and they flashed. A bolt of power shot at her but she was already gone. Faster than he or anyone could see, she was gone each time he tried to blast her, only to reappear somewhere else mockingly.

"Then let's see if -this- impresses you!" she said. She took her Hidden Disc from her belt and placed it in the Battlizer. She zoomed forward, slashing not him, but around him, leaving golden crackles of electricity around him.

"What?" She unsheathed her sort and held it up. Lightning rent the air, using her sword as a rod and igniting the electrons around him. He exploded.

Silver snorted. "I think I'm jealous now," he declared.

Dokuroba grew into his second life. "Oooh, you will pay for making Dokuroba assume this form. Oh yeah!" he said.

"Zord time!" Red said. They flipped out their Pens and Origami Zords, drawing the Large Character above them. They grew to full size and their Pilots appeared in them. Red drew the Combine character. The original five Zords combined to form the Origami Megazord.

Silver brought the hilts of his Swords together and slid the blades in the console of his cockpit. "Samurai Armament!" The Bat Origami Zord broke apart and joined with the Megazord, forming a bat head shaped helmet, a chest piece and bladed batwing fans.

"United under Providence. Bat Origami Megazord!"

Gold typed the Large Character into her Morpher. When it shimmered in the air, Wolf Origami Zord jumped through it. Not only did it grow to full size, but it transformed into a vaguely feminine shaped Megazord. She appeared in its cockpit.

She programmed in another code and closed it back. She opened her belt and pulled out the purple-gray-blue Squid Disc. It folded in on itself and she put it on her Morpher. "Squid Origami Zord!"

The Squid Origami came out of her phone. It landed in front of the Wolfzord.  "Samurai Armament!" The Squid Zord broke apart and attached to the Wolfzord, forming armor, shield and a lance. "United under Providence. Wolf Origami Megazord!"

"That's my baby. Isn't it beautiful," Holly said from where she and Danny watched.

"Yeah. She's a real beauty. You did good work," he assured her.

Dokuroba snorted. "Do not think to intimidate Dokuroba with two Megazords," he said and his eyes flashed, sending energy blasts at them both.

"I really hope that think over has some awesome," Silver told his sister when Dokuroba also split into three.

"Just watch me," Gold declared. He typed in something else on her phone. The Reveal Character showed up on her screen. Wolf Megazord's eyes flashed bright light. "The one on the left! I'll handle the two on the right!" she said.  "Squid Lance," the lance began to crackle with energy as the Rangers drew their swords and lashed forward, "Slash!" The Lance sliced through on of the Shadows. He exploded in black energy.

"Wolf Howl," the eyes glowed ominously. "Beam!" An intense golden laser shot from the eyes at the second shadow. It exploded.

The Origami Megazord traded a few blows with the real Dokuroba. "Bat Wing," they fanned the wings out into half moons with spikes, "Cut!" They slashed each one at a downward angle, forming a silvery X.

"Oh, nooo! Dokuroba...has been, defeated!" the Ayakashi exploded.

"Well, I'd say that brings this chapter to a close," Gold declared and patted her console. "Right Woofie?" she cooed. The Wolf Megazord howled.

~*~

Tai and Lani went to check on Danny and Holly but paused because Holly suddenly gave a squeal of delight and jumped on him, hugging him.

"I know ya happy, babe, but I can't breathe," Danny said.

"Why is she attacking you?" Tai asked in bemusement.

Holly whipped around and stuck her hand in their faces. "Look!" on her ring finger was a moderate sized diamond with two small sapphires on each side. The band was made from titanium.

"Congratulations!" Lani said and hugged her. "Manny and I will start on shower planning immediately," she stated.

Tai smiled and clapped Danny on the back. "Congrats, man. Good luck surviving when you tell Fox though," he said.

"Who says I have to tell him anything," Danny said with a chuckle.

Tai laughed, too. "Come on, babe, let's leave these two alone to celebrate," he said and reached out. Lani beamed and took his hand. They bid their friends farewell and walked off, their smiles quietly slipping. Tai squeezed her hand. Damned Gedoushu. When this was over...

Lani let go of his hand and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He kissed the top of her head. Yeah. When this was over this perfect woman was going to be his.

~*~

Rena sat in the nearly empty training yard watching Wolf run around a play. It suddenly stopped and titled its nose up alertly. Then it pounced.

On a squirrel. The squirrel ran off up a tree. It turned around a fussed at Wolf for a bit before continuing up the tree. Rena chuckled. Hearing her laugh, it scampered back over to her and jumped into her lap. She opened up a sandwich and pinched off a piece of her turkey and gave it to Wolf.

This Ranger business was kind of awesome, and she didn't even mind that her annoying big brother was on the team. It was actually kind of cool knowing he had her back.

"Hey. This a private lunch, or can I join you?"

Rena looked up at Tay. "Uh...no. Wait, yes. Er...I mean, no it's not a private lunch and yes you can join me," she said.

Tay grinned and lowered himself, opening a hot microwaved burrito. Rena tried not to laugh. She hoped that wasn't Kane's last one. She took a bite of her sandwich while Wolf watched Tay suspiciously, growling lowly.

Yeah, this Ranger business was awesome and now she had an awesome Origami Zord, too.

She smiled.

~*End Act 20*~           

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